


Takoyaki and Blankets

by SamCyberCat



Category: Free!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, M/M, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 03:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17800010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamCyberCat/pseuds/SamCyberCat
Summary: It's a cold winter's evening and as Asahi walks Ikuya home, the two of them try to figure out different ways to keep warm.





	Takoyaki and Blankets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [svana_vrika](https://archiveofourown.org/users/svana_vrika/gifts).



> Written for svana_vrika as part of the Free! Valentines Exchange 2019. I ended up going for the prompts of AsaIku, starlit walks and warming up from the cold because that sounded like a good time.

They could both drive. That was definitely an option. At least Asahi knew that he could drive, anyway. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't too sure about Ikuya. It did seem like Ikuya relied on public transport to get everywhere and Asahi had to admit that, even in his own case, he usually depended on getting lifts from Kisumi, which hadn't been an option tonight.

The evening was chilly, the air was brisk, but maybe that was the point. When they'd left the cafe and Ikuya had turned to Asahi and said that he wanted to walk with him, there was no way that Asahi could turn him down. No matter how cold it was, getting to spend time with Ikuya was always time well spent.

Especially when it was just the two of them...

Now that was a thought that made Asahi's cheeks warm up. He was grateful that Ikuya was walking slightly ahead, so he didn't see Asahi's awkward moment of embarrassment. Not that this would last long, as the next thing Asahi knew, Ikuya turned and stared back at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Would you stop moping back there? If this bothers you so much, then you didn't have to come with me. You could've just got a ride back with the others,” Ikuya said.

“It doesn't bother me,” Asahi insisted, picking up the pace until they were walking level with each other, “Though I'm not sure why you wanted me to come with you out of everyone.”

Ikuya clicked his tongue; “Idiot Asahi...”

That was the only answer Asahi got out of him on the matter. They kept walking through the streets, which weren't completely quiet, even at this time of night. On one hand, Asahi felt safer knowing there were always people around in Tokyo. But on the other hand, it would've been nice to spend some time with just Ikuya without any prying eyes. Maybe once they got back to Ikuya's apartment, that would be the case. After all, Natsuya was out of the country again and Hiyori had gone back to Kyoto for a few days. Ikuya had specifically asked for Asahi to come back with him, so maybe he wanted Asahi to be there...

But while figuring out Ikuya's feelings was a complicated process, some things were not complicated at all. The aroma from a nearby hot food stall wafted past and Asahi could hear his own stomach growl. He was sure that Ikuya heard it as well. Asahi gave him an awkward glance.

“Want to grab some takoyaki to take back?” Asahi asked.

“If it keeps you quiet, then sure.”

So they made a quick detour to the stall, picking up a tray of twelve takoyaki balls. Although it quickly became apparent that Asahi wasn't the only one who'd been hungry. As soon as the tray was in their possession, Ikuya picked up his chopsticks and jammed some takoyaki into his mouth. Which turned out to be a mistake, since fresh takoyaki was almost like eating molten lava. Before Asahi had a chance to react, poor Ikuya's eyes were watering and his face had gone very red.

“Here! Just spit it out on the napkin!” Asahi offered, holding it up for him.

But Ikuya wildly shook his head. He could be stubborn about the weirdest things. After the false start, he managed to swallow his mouthful and then grabbed a bottle of water to wash it down. Once that was over, Ikuya looked even more flushed than Asahi had been before. Seeing that, Asahi couldn't help but crack up laughing.

“It's not funny...!” Ikuya huffed.

“It is pretty funny,” said Asahi, nudging his shoulder.

A small smile appeared on Ikuya's lips; “...All right. You win this time, Monkey Man.”

After that, they waited a bit longer before trying again with the takoyaki. Even though it wasn't the done thing, Asahi poked small holes into each one, to help the air get into it faster. They had a much better time of eating them after that and once they'd reached Ikuya's apartment, the entire tray was empty. Ikuya dropped it into a bin outside, before walking up the steps to the apartment.

“So this is it then,” Ikuya said, hovering awkwardly outside his own door, “Thanks for walking me home. And for the late dinner. I had a good time.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Asahi, “If you ever want to do this again, well, you know just to ask.”

There was a lengthy silence. On the street behind them a taxi drove past, splashing through the puddles from the earlier rain as it went. The noise echoed around them. This was it then. Time to go.

Asahi was just turning to leave as Ikuya called out to him.

“You can always come in.”

“Are you sure?”

“Would I be asking if I wasn't?”

That was a good point. Ikuya was always so direct when it came to Asahi. If he didn't want him to be there, then he wouldn't have offered. So Asahi turned back, walking up the steps and through the door that Ikuya was now holding open for him. There weren't many other students around, since it was the wrong time of the week for parties. Asahi, Ikuya and their friends just chose weird days to meet up, since they all had their own schedules to work around, especially when training got intense.

This meant that the two of them got to spend a quiet evening in. Asahi wasn't sure how long he was going to stay for, but so long as he could be with Ikuya, he'd stay as long as he could. Was it strange to think that about his friend...? Well, Asahi certainly felt like Ikuya could be more than a friend to him. If only he had the right words to ask something like that.

They stepped inside and what hit Asahi right away was how cold the place was. Ikuya switched on the heating, but it'd take a while for the apartment to warm up. Good thing they had that takoyaki inside of them from before.

“The heating isn't great...” Ikuya mumbled, almost apologetically.

“It's fine, I've lived places where the heating barely worked at all,” Asahi assured him, “In fact, when Akane first got the Marron it took about a week to get the heating working properly, but we always made do.”

Without being prompted by Ikuya, Asahi pressed on into the living room, gathering together all of the cushions from the sofa. He held them up like he'd just caught a rare bounty.

“This should do it. You got some blankets as well?” he asked.

“Of course I have blankets, geez. They're just through here,” said Ikuya, briefly disappearing into his room and coming back with one that he'd obviously just taken off his bed, “Are you seriously suggesting we make a pillow fort like a couple of kids?”

“Don't see why not,” Asahi chimed.

As soon as Ikuya took a seat on the sofa, Asahi dumped all of the cushions on him and wrapped him up in the blanket. Then he hurried through to the bedroom and took the pillows off Ikuya's bed, bringing those through to dump on him as well. He was so wrapped up that only his head was popping out the top now.

“So cute...”

“What did you just say?”

“I said th-that you're... uh, pretty cute...” Asahi admitted.

“Ugh. Don't just stand there gawping like that. I bet you're cold as well,” said Ikuya.

Admittedly, Asahi hadn't stopped to think about that. He'd been too busy fussing over Ikuya. While he hesitated, Ikuya reached an arm up out of the pile of blankets and pillows, grabbing Asahi to pull him down into it. Asahi landed awkwardly and scrambled about to not hurt Ikuya. Soon enough, they were both tangled up in blankets.

“Sorry, Ikuya!”

“This kind of stuff only ever happens with you, Asahi.”

At first Asahi thought he was being scolded. But when he looked across, he saw that Ikuya's eyes were creased with silent laughter. Seeing that warmed Asahi up more than all the blankets in the world could do. He watched, almost mesmerised for a few moments.

Then Ikuya relaxed, resting his head against Asahi's chest.

“Thanks for coming home with me tonight,” he purred.

Asahi smiled softly; “Thanks for inviting me in.”

Together, the two of them didn't have to worry about the winter chill. They'd keep each other warm without any trouble at all.


End file.
